Learn more about the future trends of adventure tourism!

Adventure tourism continues to grow in its popularity, with at least 42% of all travelers wanting to participate in one or a range of adventure activities. There’s usually a lot of planning and preparation that goes into the process, and while 80% of the revenue from a typical trip goes to airlines, in adventure tourism 70-80% of the revenue goes to local communities.

As the sector continues to attract more attention, new trends continue to evolve. Here is a list of current and future tendencies that will aid in raising tourism revenues:

Upcoming Technology Trends

Use of Virtual Reality Tours

Use of Professional Photography and Videos

Finding new insights with Big Data

BlockChain

Implementation of Chatbots

Developing Trends Among Travelers

Cycling Trips

Slow Travel

Travelling Solo

1.Use of Virtual Reality Tours

Since VR entered the world of tourism with all the possibilities it can offer, its popularity skyrocketed. Within seconds, people who are interested in a destination or adventure activity can be transported to the location within seconds. On top of the visuals, participants also get to experience sound effects and even scents. After a recent survey conducted by Digital Market Outlook,49% of all adventure tourism providers would use VR if the service is provided for free, and 13% would be willing to pay for travel-related content. What’s more interesting, 73% of all users would be interested in downloading the virtual reality app on their device.

In addition to that, Virtual Tourism can allow people to see different interpretations of history. For example, Denmark has plans to transform their virtual reality exhibit on Viking history and Norse mythology into a permanent theme park. Participants would be able to fight dragons and explore a Nordic landscape.

2. Use Professional Photography and Videos

“According to Trivago, good images get on average 63% more clicks than poor quality photos”

Our society is increasingly visual, and the majority of people base their opinions on what they see. Photos of traveling experiences make a huge impact on future clients, and whether they want to spend their money on it. Furthermore, photos are 40% more likely to get shared online than text, especially on Facebook. Marketing expert, Frederic Gonzalo, recommends using the CLEAR principle, which stands for using photos with clean, light, edit, angle and resolution principles. Trivago advises using at least 20 images with 2,000 pixels, without forgetting to include a featured hero image.

Don’t forget the website of your travel agency! According to the Missouri University of Science and Technology, it takes 2.6 seconds for users to land their eyes on the area of the website that looks the most influential.

Photography can either make your adventure business grow or significantly decrease its sales. Think about photos that will sell your visual content best, whether it be a local heritage or different tours and activities. If you’re unsure what you can deliver when it comes to good photography, it’s best to outsource your photography services.

At Meero, we’re specializing in making your photography process flawless. As the largest photography company in the world that raised over $230 million in funds, we guarantee to pair you with the most well-suited and experienced lifestyle and property photographers near you. At Meero, we partner with 58,000 photographers in more than 100 countries. While a 60-minute shoot takes a photographer on average four hours of post-production work, Meero’s AI is able to complete the same work in seconds.

Meero can provide you with the best service by

Giving you a seamless user experience

Using cutting edge AI algorithms

Providing you with an easy ordering process

Giving you access to end-to-end service

Thanks to its adaptable and scalable solutions, Meero delivers prime lifestyle and property images delivered in less than 24 hours.

In addition to photos, you should include a number of quality videos that would show different adventure travel experiences. A customized video can make you stand out and show the creative side of your business. Videos are a great way of storytelling. People need certain information to make a decision, and that’s why videos are valuable. They let your consumers visualize the experience, also answering potential questions or doubts they might have.

3. Implementation of Chatbots

Chatbot is a system that allows users to connect directly with the services and engage in online conversations. Chatbots were designed to solve customer support issues faster and more efficiently. They are also proven to be cost-effective as they can save up to 30% of customer support costs. Specifically, this system can help with:

Sales

Marketing

Customer service

Partner programs

In addition, the data can be extracted from the conversations in order to predict future trends and preferences. So far, the use of chatbots is on the rise, and the majority of businesses believe that they’re very popular with the millennials. What’s more, 95% of consumers believe that ‘customer service’ is going to be the main beneficiary of chatbots.’ In addition to that, users prefer chatbots over call making, as studies show that56% of people would rather message than call customer service.

Chatbots offer a clean alternative that doesn’t create bloatware on your device. Usually, they use existing platforms like messenger apps that are available to everyone who has a phone. They also send notifications, promotional offers, and updates directly to their users while they’re traveling.

4. Finding New Insights with Big Data

Accenture Interactive found that 100% of travel brands use some kind of a Web analytics tool, but only 50% of them were using data extracted by these technologies to improve the consumer experience. Big Data refers to large amounts of data that can be used to analyze new trends, preferences, insights, and risks. It can also make a better segmentation for the campaigns, increase efficacy and optimize the investment needed for the campaigns. Big Data can also help in the following ways:

Despite a number of advantages, there are still a few points that require improvement. Here are examples of some of them:

The difficulty of sharing information across sources

Organizations usually don’t have a standard means of collecting data

The information it yields can be long and unwieldy

Although Big Data is an extremely helpful tool when it comes to finding new opportunities to promote the travel adventure business and can lead to its growth, there is still a number of obstacles that have to be dealt with.

5. Blockchain

Blockchain aims at transforming ways in which we store and use the information. In cases where travel agencies have to send information to different firms when booking trips for their clients, meaning that a lot of personal information will be shared. Blockchain could make this process more transparent and secure, especially when it comes to foreign transactions. If implemented, Blockchain could allow for a number of possibilities, such as:

Easy, safe and traceable payments

Hotel or transportation Coordination and Management

Business ratings

Baggage management

Rewards systems

The most obvious way in which blockchain will disrupt the industry is by accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment. Blockchain can also ensure maximum capacity without overbooking. It also can save airlines from bad press when it comes to overbooking and kicking people out of the plane. Experts say that crypto-companies will come and go, but the bubble of blockchain will never burst.

7. Cycling Trips

According to McLean, a Virginia based travel advisor, the popularity of bike trips continues to grow. This is due to peoples’ tendency to feel active and adventurous. The cycling time can vary from a 24 hour trip to only a few hours per day. The so-called bike tourism usually falls under these main categories:

Bicycle Travel/touring

Events

Destination riding

Day rides and urban cycling

It’s estimated that 48 million people bicycle recreationally for a year. In addition to that, bicycling contributes to better community health and related savings, less congestion, a better environment, and happier people. Bicycle tourists tend to be geo-tourists and are usually interested in experiencing the specificity of a place, landscape, culture, and history. The way to attract people interested in this sort of activity is to provide them with a place where it’s enjoyable to ride.

8. The Slow Tourism

The slow pace and authentic experiences are two ideas behind slow tourism. The notion of slow tourism originated 20 years ago in Italy, which served as an aspiration for a slower way of life. Slow tourism intends to put down the idea of overconsumption and end the perpetual motion of modern life. One of the aims is to experience the unexpected by avoiding well-known tourist attractions and stay off the beaten path. Slow travels prefer to give themselves time to discover new places, stay curious, providing themselves with peace and serenity.

Whether your adventure takes you to Winelands in Portugal, Canadian Rockies or South Africa, you’re guaranteed to relax, slow down and enjoy travel at a leisurely pace.

9. Traveling Solo

Traveling solo can be very self-indulging, as you have full control of your travel itinerary. In addition to that, you don’t have to worry about the needs and wants of others, solo travel is all about your personal preferences. You can also feel more integrated with the local culture, as you won’t stand out alone as much as you would in a group of tourists.

In case, you might doubt the safety of solo travel, just take a look at recent statistics. 59% of women solo travelers say they would travel alone again without a second thought. Furthermore, a survey with a sample of 262 participants showed that 80% of people prefer independent travel.